


gratitude

by orphan_account



Series: kageyama rare pair collection [4]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Masks, Midieval Japan, Prince Kageyama Tobio, Prince Sakusa Kiyoomi, Soulmates, no beta we die like men, sry for typos aHaHAHaha
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:20:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23393914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: every person is born wearing a mask that matches their soulmate's. it will only come off when you meet them. tobio is tired of having clay instead of skin on his face.//His mask is beautiful, Tobio admits. It’s a kitsune mask with delicate red and gold details of sakura petals and koi. Two bells dangle from red ropes on the right side and they make the prettiest sound when they jingle.However, he’s getting tired of looking at it. He wants to know what his face looks like. He was born with this stupid mask and he sure does not want to die with it. There are days when Tobio would try to rip the mask off his face, resulting in rashes and painful tears in his skin. Those days are the worst, always ending with Tobio kneeling in the corner of his room, tears mixed with blood trickling down his face and staining his silk kimonos.
Relationships: Kageyama Tobio/Sakusa Kiyoomi
Series: kageyama rare pair collection [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1620874
Comments: 11
Kudos: 288





	gratitude

**Author's Note:**

> sakusa is like one of my best boys so i decided to write this. i wanted to do a soulmate au and i found this prompt on tumblr. thought it would go great with like ancient japan themes hehe.

Kageyama Tobio, the wisest son of the Karasuno kingdom, the most potential heir to the throne, yet he hasn’t even found his soulmate at the age of 21. He thinks it’s pathetic, really. Everyone in the royal family has found their soulmates already. He thinks it’s pitiful. 

He’s getting desperate and so are his parents, even though they try not to show it. They organise balls three times a week in an effort to seek out his mate, but after dozens of them, nobody stepped out with the same mask he wears.

His mask is beautiful, Tobio admits. It’s a kitsune mask with delicate red and gold details of sakura petals and koi. Two bells dangle from red ropes on the right side and they make the prettiest sound when they jingle. 

However, he’s getting tired of looking at it. He wants to know what his face looks like. He was born with this stupid mask and he sure does not want to die with it. There are days when Tobio would try to rip the mask off his face, resulting in rashes and painful tears in his skin. Those days are the worst, always ending with Tobio kneeling in the corner of his room, tears mixed with blood trickling down his face and staining his silk kimonos.

Yachi, his attendant, is the one who always comes and rescues him. She helps him stand up slowly and wipes away the dirt off gently with a warm washcloth. He thinks it would be easier if he is mated with her. Her mask was taken off when they were only ten. It has been more than a decade now and she’s getting married to Hinata in a few months.

He thinks it’s time to give up. To just live as the faceless prince. So, he tells his parents to stop organising events. That way, he can sit and sulk in his room all day without anyone giving a damn, right?

Wrong.

It has only been a week since the royal parties stopped and the city sounds less busy now. Yachi knocks softly on his door one day. She peeks her head in and Tobio looks at her questioningly. She only does that when she’s delivering a message she knows Tobio would not like to hear.

“Your Highne-” she starts with a slightly trembling voice, but is immediately cut off.

“I told you that Tobio is fine. What is it?” Tobio sits up straight on his bed.

“The King requests that you go on a voyage to Itachiyama with him to settle some matters,” she finishes with a gulp.

Tobio groans. His father has been yapping on and on about him becoming the next ruler when he clearly doesn’t want to. Wouldn’t it be easier to leave the position to someone like Ennoshita or Yamaguchi? He thinks it’s a complete burden. He isn’t sure that he can satisfy the needs of his people and doesn’t think that he’s actually brave enough to protect them.

Most importantly, he hasn’t found his mate. Imagine what would happen if he is crowned king. From the faceless prince to the faceless king. Wouldn’t that be an upgrade? 

“I think you should go, you know?” Yachi says now that she’s standing right in front of Tobio’s bed, knees pressed to the frame. “You’ve been cooped up in here everyday now that it’s kind of worrying me.”

Tobio scrunches his nose. Yachi only ever gives him advice when she thinks it’s purely necessary and to the point where she can’t stand something anymore. Her patience is outstanding, after all. “It’s that bad?”

Yachi nods sheepishly.

Tobio heaves a heavy sigh. “Inform the King that I will be joining him on the voyage.”

“Alright. The trip is in two days. Would you like me to help you pack?”

“How old do you think I am?”

Yachi giggles. “The way you’ve been locking yourself in here suggests to me that you are an angsty teenager.”

Tobio flings a velvet pillow right at her face which she barely misses when she turns and skips out his bedroom. “I’ll be on my way now. Have a nice day.”

Tobio starts to pack for the dreadful voyage after talking to his father about it. Apparently, there has been a slight disagreement with the other kingdom and it involves trading and taxes (?). Tobio doesn’t know. He wasn’t really listening.

He rides in a carriage with his own guards. He looks out the glass-stained windows and is awed by how large and grand their gates are. The kingdom is welcoming albeit the purpose of their arrival. They are led to a meeting hall with a high ceiling that makes your voice echo. 

Tobio carefully takes his place beside his father, trying not to attract as much attention as possible. Tobio is probably the youngest person in the room and he shifts in his seat due to the staring eyes. He thinks that it’s a tad rude for them to do that, even though it’s quite peculiar for him to be wearing a mask at his age.

The King of Itachiyama arrives at the hall in a couple minutes. He apologises to everyone for his rashness. He takes the seat at the other end of the long table after wiping the beads of sweat on the side of his forehead. 

The King’s advisor, Tobio assumes, is looking at him with blinking eyes and mouth agape. He taps the King’s shoulder lightly and whispers something into his ear. The man turns to not so discreetly look at Tobio and his jaw almost drops to the floor. His eyes are wide and he looks like his brain can’t comprehend anything at the moment.

The room stays in silence for a few moments until the Itachiyama ruler clears his throat. “Apologies, King Kageyama, but can two of us speak in private?”

Tobio’s father is taken aback at the sudden and unusual request. “May I ask why? I believe we have agreed to discuss about trading and tax terms.”

“Ah, but you see- How do I put this? Uh, well,” he tries to structure a sentence in his brain. “I would like to discuss matters regarding Prince Tobio.”

The King of Karasuno is bewildered now and so is Tobio. Why would they want to talk about him without him in the room? What are they even going to talk about? Tobio looks at his father with wary eyes. It takes a few seconds for his father to decide to usher everyone out of the room, even Tobio is brought out.

He feels like it’s a good thing though. He doesn’t really want to be stuck in a room full of middle-aged men bickering out politics. He can only stare blankly at his guards as he stands cluelessly outside now. 

“My deepest apologies for this, Prince Tobio,” a voice says from behind him. He turns around to find a man about his height in an olive green robe. “Would you like a tour around the castle grounds as we wait.”

“Of course,” Tobio says with a smile. He figures that it would be a good way to kill the time while waiting for his father who is doing God knows what. “Lead the way.”

The man smiles gently. “Follow me. My name is Komori Motoya and I am the son of the general.”

“Nice to meet you, Komori-san. I am in your care,” Tobio says, line rehearsed.

“The pleasure is mine, Your Highness. And just Komori is fine.”

Komori brings him around the entire castle. Tobio likes it there. It’s much more greener with the vegetation surrounding the castle and there are different types of flowers decorating different wings of the castle. “Would Your Highness like a drink before we continue?” Komori asks as they approach the kitchen.

“I’m fine,” Tobio replies.

“Well then, let us proceed to the gardens.”

They enter the gardens and Tobio immediately feels better. There are different trees and flowers in every section and he has to resist the urge to run his fingers through their soft petals. There is a majestic fountain in the middle of it all. There is a tall man sitting at the edge of it, seemingly toying with a flower in hand. His back is facing Tobio though.

“This concludes the tour. Would Your Highness like to go anywhere?” Komori pipes up again as Tobio is still looking at the man. Something about him intrigues Tobio.

“I think I’ll stay here,” Tobio mutters. He turns to Komori and his guards. “You are all dismissed.”

They bow their heads as they retreat back into the castle. Tobio takes a few hesitant steps towards the fountain. He stops in his tracks when the man moves to cross his legs though. He feels like his feet have been glued to the ground by just the slightest movement of him.

“Are you just going to stand there and stare at me?” the man asks. His voice is deep and it sends chills down Tobio’s spine.

“Uh, I- I wasn’t… i was jus-” Tobio tries to say.

“Who are you and what do you want?” he asks.

Tobio takes two deep breaths before opening his mouth to speak again, “I-I am Prince Tobio of Karasuno.”

The man hums thoughtfully. “Father did mention something about people coming.” He throws the flower into the fountain. “I am the first prince of Itachiyama, Sakusa Kiyoomi. Pleasure to meet you, I suppose.”

Tobio still stands there awkwardly. He has yet to see the face of the man—of Prince Kiyoomi. He shifts his feet as he looks around the garden. 

He hears a sigh. “You can come here and take a seat, you know. I won’t bite.”

Tobio walks around the fountain to meet Kiyoomi who seems to be waiting patiently for his new friend. He looks at his feet as he takes a seat a good half a meter away from Kiyoomi. He hasn’t seen the man’s face as of yet. (Curse his stupid shallow social skills.) 

It takes a full minute for Tobio to find the courage to look up at Kiyoomi, who is already looking back at him. The world stops entirely as they come face to face. 

His face feels warm as he stills in shock. Kiyoomi is also wearing a mask,  _ his _ mask to be exact, and he too looks to be frozen in place. They both sit silently in awe as they watch each other’s mask disperse slowly and gently into flower petals, littering the area around them.

When the last petal is gently carried into the water of the fountain along with many others, Tobio makes the first move. He moves his hand up to his own face and feels his own skin. His vision gets blurry as his fingertips come to contact with something that isn’t his damned clay mask.

He tries to see his reflection in the petal-littered water. He can somewhat make out his blue eyes. His eyes widen comically in realisation that Kiyoomi is his soulmate and he is the one who finally took off Tobio’s mask.

He surges forward and wraps his arms around the older in a tight embrace. “Thank you,” he mumbles.

He can feel Kiyoomi pulling away and his heart stops. “Well, Tobio, that was certainly a surprise,” he clears his throat. “Look, it’s elating that I’ve finally found the one I am supposedly quote, unquote ‘destined’ to be with, but I’d rather get to know you first than dive head first into a marriage already.”

Tobio’s face reddens as he gains consciousness of his actions. Lord, he must look like some maniac desperate for love right now (which isn’t entirely wrong, but he also doesn’t want to be married to a stranger).

“Right, my apologies,” Tobio says as he straightens his back. “I wasn’t actually, uhm, well… I meant thank you for taking off my mask,” he says slowly, trying to pick the right words. “I am, well,  _ was _ the only person in my royal family to have a mask on.”

Kiyoomi looks at him and Tobio tries to study all his features. His eyes are almost black and he has two moles above his right eyebrow. Tobio thinks it’s attractive. “I don’t really intend on getting married to a stranger either…” he mumbles.

“Then I guess we have to get to know each other now, don’t we?” Sakusa asks with a small curl forming at the end of his lips.

Just then, Tobio hears his father’s voice from the entrance, “Tobio! There has been a bit of a change of plans and I need you to meet-”

“Oh.”

“Father, I can explain,” Tobio splutters.

The King of Itachiyama joins in soon. “I see you two have already met,” he says. “And, Kiyoomi, I’d always known that you’d take after me—dashing as ever.”

Kiyoomi rolls his eyes. “As if,” he snorts.

“We will leave both of you to your devices. This is also quite a surprise to both of us. You can make a decision and inform us later,” the Itachiyama ruler announces before walking back into the castle.

Kiyoomi waits until they are alone again. “We don’t have to rush things. We should wait until we’re comfortable. We may not even end up liking each other romantically.” Tobio’s heart drops at that. “Though it’d be a shame because I think that you are absolutely my type.”

Tobio’s blush deepens. “We can take it slow,” he nods.

They both decide that Tobio will stay in Itachiyama while his father and the rest return to Karasuno. Yachi writes him a letter, congratulating him and wishing him well. He stays in Itachiyama for a month until Kiyoomi says that he would like to visit Karasuno.

Everyone in Karasuno welcomes both of them with open arms and a celebration is held in honor of Tobio’s unmasking. Flags with Kiyoomi and his kitsune masks decorate the entire city and bright lanterns are put up when the sun sets.

Tobio feels complete with Kiyoomi. He wouldn’t have anyone else. They continue their courtship for a little over a year until Kiyoomi proposes. The proposal is kind of over the top but Tobio wouldn’t have it any other way. It is agreed that Tobio will reside in Itachiyama while Kiyoomi becomes King.

The wedding is held in Itachiyama and everyone from both Itachiyama and Karasuno are invited. The royal families of their allies are also invited to the grand wedding. Tobio feels a heavy weight lift off his shoulders as Kiyoomi slips a beautiful ring onto his finger and they share a tender kiss. Whistles and claps sound in the castle.

“Thank you,” Tobio whispers. “For everything.”

Kiyoomi smiles at him and cups his cheek. “Anything for you.”

**Author's Note:**

> kudos and comments are appreciated
> 
> my twt is @KYOOMlE


End file.
